No Goodbye
by Williebadger618
Summary: "No. There is no goodbye, Mabes. We're going to survive. No goodbye." I say reassuringly. She bites her lip in fear, but it only wants me to hold her tighter. "No goodbye..." I kept repeating in my head. "This would not be the end of us. We will make it." Rated T for mentions of abuse and child endangerment.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys. I bring you another fanfic. If I get a handful of reviews, I will add on another chapter. I know for a fact you are all annoyed with me because I never updated _Decisions and Disappearances_ for six months. (If you didn't already know, I finished it about two weeks ago.) I deserve the cold shoulders; I had a feeling it was coming. This may possibly be my final fanfic before I leave ****fan fiction. I'm not sure yet.**

 **Now I just want to warn you, if I receive high demand for a continuation, then you're gonna have to bare with me. I'll be away on vacation for a week or so, and then the following week, I have a doctor's appointment for a blood test. So you'll have to wait about a week or two for another chapter. But this is only the case if I receive high demand for a continuation.**

 **I rated this T for mentions of abuse and child endangerment.**

 **Enjoy**

 **-Williebadger618**

* * *

 **No Goodbye**

 **Dipper's POV:**

Everything seemed to happen very fast. It was unexpected. It was horrifying. It was the longest night of my entire life. But we made it through. Just like I kept telling myself and to my sister... _No goodbye._

Fights were getting more and more intense the past few days between my parents. My father always seemed to be the one to blame his mistakes on everybody else besides himself. Mainly my mother. There were several occasions where if Mabel or I were in the room with him, and he broke an object or knocked something over, he would throw the blame on us...and punish us...badly. Of course though, our punishments were worse when Mom either wasn't in the room, or wasn't at home. Sometimes, these punishments would last five minutes, other times, five hours. Or longer. I seemed to get more of a blow than my twin sister. But if it meant she was okay and safe, then that's all that really mattered.

Once the fights continued to grow into more violent arguments, Mabel and I tried to keep a low profile, and stay scarce during fights between our parents. We didn't want to get blamed or punished again. It were these times where my sister and I would stick close towards each other. We faced these encounters too many times to count on our fingers. Besides, we don't want to get hurt anymore by him.

It was beginning to get difficult to hide the scars and bruises from our classmates and teachers at school. My sister and I were forced to wear long sleeved shirts, jeans down to our ankles, and sneakers tided tightly. We borrowed mom's cover-up makeup so we could hide our black and blue marks and scratches. If somebody found out, the police, and the Child Protected Services would be called to the house. Although it would be a blessing to help fix our broken family, it would also be a curse. Child Protected Services can easily separate me and Mabel, and we couldn't stand to face that chance. I can't be separated from Mabel. She can't be separated from me. I can't live this life, or any life without her. She's my best friend, and I can't lose her.

However, the past few weeks though, things at home seemed to be calming down a bit. I thought that things finally got worked out between my parents...but sadly, I was mistaken.

 **Sunday, November 14, 2012. Approximately 8:30pm.** _The night that changed my entire life._

Mabel and I had recently finished our homework, and were snuggled close to each other on the couch, watching a weird television show. I had my one arm draped over her shoulder, as her head laid gently on my chest. At times, I would glance at her, watching her sleep soundly in my arms. Keeping my eye on her made me remember that things were okay...for now. I was beginning to drift into the unconscious state as well, but I couldn't. My parents were fighting again, and this fight sounded as if it was growing bad every second. I kept trying to keep myself awake, just incase something bad arises within this house. I was very cautious.

After about five minutes or so with no loud screams from the other end of the house, I heard a huge banging sound coming from the other room. I jumped in my seat, with Mabel squealing awake in the process. My body became as stiff as a statue, while Mabel looked around the room fearfully. She was frightened. I was scared too, but I didn't show it. I cautiously stood up from the couch, and reluctantly walked towards the door frame to see what happened. Mabel made an attempt to stop me from checking, but I didn't. When I poked my head through the opening between the living room and the kitchen, I saw my mother standing up, walking to where I was with her hands around her head, and my father with a weapon in his hand, pointing it at her. My heart immediately sank. He had a weapon...he looked like he was about to fire at any minute. I was immediately frightened for my safety. For Mabel's safety. For my mother's safety. This couldn't be happening. This just wasn't real. I attempted to back away from the door frame and towards Mabel, but dad had his eyes locked on me. That's when he stopped my mother from walking, and pointed the weapon towards _me_. My eyes enlarged as I inhaled a shaky breath, and placed my hands behind my head.

"Dipper, what's happening?" Mabel uttered with a similar shaky breath as I inhaled. I backed towards Mabel as she got up and looked at me in confusion and fear. It wasn't long until our parents walked into the room, and she put two and two together. Immediately, she did the same pose my mother and I were in. Dad through my mother in front of us, and I tried to attempt to help her up, but dad pointed the weapon at me again, and told me to leave her there. Fearing of getting severely injured, I obeyed his orders and remained in my same position.

"Frank," mom began with tears flowing down her eyes and standing up from the floor. "Leave the kids out of it."

"They're in this mess just like you Jess." dad replied with a snarl. I heard Mabel beginning to cry slightly, but I told her to stop. But her crying intensified. And when her crying continued, dad pointed the weapon towards Mabel. "Mabel, you better knock it off now, or you're not gonna like what happens." Dad said in a sinister voice. Mabel attempted to get the waterworks together, but her emotions continued to get the better of her. Hearing Mabel sob was starting to make me upset. But I held it in. All I wanted to do, was hold Mabel. I wanted to hold her, have her safe in my arms, not wanting to let her go for a second. I knew she would want the same thing. I just didn't want either one of us, including mom, to end up getting shot. We just had to ride this out for the greater good.

"Please Frank, please leave them out of this." Mom tried again, now standing directly in front of us, shielding us from the weapon.

"No way. They're just as guilty as you are." Dad replied. I honestly didn't know what this fight was about. I think it was about money or something. "I know the three of you were planning to escape the fun house. You better tell me where that stash of money is." He said. What stash of money? What escape plan? Why were we not informed about this?

"Dipper and Mabel know nothing about the money. Just let them go." Mom asked gently.

"And risk them running out of the house and searching for authorities? Not in a million years." Dad said, stepping closer towards the three of us as we continued to move back until we made contact with the wall. I could tell Mom was getting fed up with dad. She wanted an out for us, but nothing seemed to be working for her. But the one thing I saw that was unexpected of her to do, was lunge herself towards our father, and fight him off as a distraction for us to run and hide.

"GO GO GO!" I heard mom say as she fought our father, pushing his arm towards the floor with the weapon.

Without any hesitation, I grabbed Mabel, and we made a run for the basement. It felt as if my legs were running faster than my own body down those creaky steps. But through the sounds of my sister's hysterical crying, and the continuing sound of our feet making contact with the steps, I could continue to hear the struggles of distress from the floor above. I made no attempt to go back up the staircase. I raced down those steps and followed Mabel to a dark corner in our basement. As soon as our butt's made contact with the fuzzy carpet, Mabel and I clearly heard the sound of a gunshot. Not one...not two...too many to keep track. I couldn't tell if mom got injured...or she was the one who finished the job. I just sat on the floor, hugged Mabel for dear life, and prayed this nightmare would be over soon.

"I'm scared Dipper..." Mabel said in a whisper, sniffling slightly. I looked at her, eyes locking with her's, as we both shared the same expression of fear on our faces.

"I'm scared too..." I admitted. I just continued to hold her close, not even daring to loosen my grip on her. Her arms were around me, just as tight as her head was buried into my shoulder. I kept my head up, scanning the room for the intruder and for possible weapons to defend myself with. I had to be strong. I had to be brave. For Mabel. She's all that matters.

She and I clearly heard quiet, gentle footsteps from upstairs. Fearing it was our father searching for us, we tried to remain as silent as possible, despite Mabel's constant sniffles. I motioned her to settle down, and she obeyed. I kept hugging Mabel in fear as the footsteps continued to grow towards the entrance of the basement. My stomach was clenching into knots, as I felt my shortness of breath returning. I prayed it wasn't him. I prayed it was help. But none of us called for help...were we doomed?

"Dipper?" Mabel whispered to me, as I moved my head towards her direction. "If tonight is...the end..." She began, but I cut her off.

"No, sis." I whispered to her as quietly as possible. "We're gonna make it through this, just like we always do."

"But...if something happens, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything I've done to you to piss you off, or cause you to hate me." She replies with tears leaking through her eyes. I take my one hand and wipe them away as I felt my own tears beginning to rise in my eyes. I release another shaky breath before I reply.

"None of that matter's Mabel. I could never hate you. You're my twin sister and best friend on this earth. We'll make it through this." I say in the most positive way I could think of.

"But, if we don't..." She says, but I cut her off once more.

"No. There is no goodbye, Mabes. We're going to survive. No goodbye." I say reassuringly. She bites her lip in fear, but it only wants me to hold her tighter. _No goodbye..._ I kept repeating in my head. _This would not be the end of us. We will make it._

The footsteps from earlier resurfaced once more as I began to hear them descend down the staircase. A flashlight could be seen shining through the room, as a silhouette figure was being shown through the lamps from the room above and the brightness of the flashlight. The light had moved to the other side of the basement, buying me some time to scan my surroundings in hopes to find a weapon to help defend me. Luckily, I found my old baseball bat from when I was in the little leagues baseball camp...before I quit days after. I took my feet in attempts to grab it. Thankfully, I grabbed it just in time before the silhouette cut the corner. I removed my arms from Mabel's grasp and grabbed the bat. I then stood up, fixed my hat, and awaited for the intruder to come to me.

Mabel, astounded by my act of bravery, grabbed my ankle and looked up to me in with tearful eyes. She didn't think I would be doing this, but if it meant keeping Mabel safe, then that's all that truly mattered in my book.

"Dipper?" She uttered in a whisper tone. I looked back down at her, sent her a faint smile as I nodded my head towards her, and whispered the words I've been repeating in my mind for the last several minutes.

"No goodbye, Mabel. No goodbye." I said. As soon as i replied to Mabel, the silhouette had cut the corner completely and shined the light towards me and Mabel. Sadly to my dismay...it was not who I was hoping for.

"Hahaha." Dad said sinisterly. "I found you Dipshit." That's when I took a huge deep breath, reluctantly approached the man with the killing weapon, and waited for the right time to strike. "And of course, you're with your fucking bitch sister. She's nothing but a whore." He spat.

I felt my nose twitch in anger as he knelt down in front of me, and continue to send Mabel verbal curse words...words she knew would stick with her for a long time. My anger kept bubbling up inside of me when every single, untruthful word came out of my father's mouth. It's bad when the kids at school call her nasty names, but a blood relative? That's when he crossed the line. I took the bat and swung it so it hit him right in the head. He fell like a sack of potatoes, limp to the ground; the weapon escaping his grasp.

It took me a few moments to realize what I had done. I looked down at him; the father I use to have...now unconscious on the basement floor. After several moments with no grunts or movement, I took the tip of the baseball bat and nudged his body to see if he was still awake, and not pulling an act on me. But it was alright now. He was harmless as of right now. I heard movement from the corner I was originally hiding in, seeing Mabel rise up from the floor, looking at me with hopeful eyes. I nodded to her that it was safe to come forward. She ran towards me, embracing me with all her strength. I hugged her back just as tight, knowing this nightmare was coming to an end. She and I were safe now. That's all that mattered.

Hand in hand, we quietly ascend up the staircase back to the main floor, and back to the living room where we first left our mother. However, when we first entered back into the room, we were met with a horrifying discovery. Mom laid limp on the ground, blood making its permanent stains to the carpet. Mabel began to shed tears as I approached mom, and checked for a pulse. Luckily, I found one. Yet, it was weak.

"Is she..." Mabel uttered through her tears.

"She's still alive, but I don't know for how much longer." I reply to her, trying to get mom to wake up. But my attempts were failing. Mabel continued to cry at the scene of our potentially dead mother, as I arose from the body, approached Mabel, and just hugged her. I forced her head into my chest so she wouldn't have to see anymore of the horrifying scene in front of us. While in the embrace, I began to see flashing lights and hearing whistles of police cars beginning to drive up to the street. It wasn't too much longer when the door was kicked open and several cops fled in the house. I just continued to hold Mabel for the sake of the time she and I had left. We knew that since help was finally here, it wasn't long until CPS would arrive.

"Children, are you okay?" An officer said to us as Mabel and I continued to hold each other. Mabel made no attempt to say anything to the cop. Instead, I looked up at him, giving him the look most people give when they go through a traumatizing event. He understood. "Come along, kids." The officer said as he escorted Mabel and I out of our home and into the front yard.

While leaving the room, I could hear the cops talking about the condition our mother was in. I wouldn't know about Frank until later on in the evening. We stepped out of the house, as the cop took us to the back of a police car where we would remain here for some time. The cop, along with Mabel and I, knew that CPS was on its way, where we would soon be bombarded with many questions. It would be a while until we physically left this horrifying scene, but I just kept hoping when that time arrived, I would be leaving here with my twin.

Mabel and I never loosened our grip on each other.

* * *

 **A/N: Let me know if you want to see the second part; to find out what happens to the twins.**

 **-Williebadger618**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone. I was quite surprised to see comments for a continuation. I'm glad you all bared with me during my absence. My vacation went very well...got to love graduation. While on vacation though, I came up with with a big plan for this story and have decided to make this into a five chapter story. If you liked part 1, you're sure to like the others. This story is planned to be completed before I leave this website, so I promise when I say I will get this done.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **-Williebadger618**

* * *

No Goodbye-Part II

 **Dipper's POV:**

I don't know what seemed worse; remaining inside of a cop car in front of the scene of a committed crime, or the fact that CPS was literally minutes away. I felt my tears leaking through my eyes and dripping down onto my face...but it would be a while until I would let my emotions get the better of me. Mabel, on the other hand, was crying hysterically minutes ago, but her sobbing was beginning to subside. I held her close to me, keeping her head in my chest as her tears soaked through my shirt. I didn't want her to see the field of police officers and paramedics out in the front yard. I didn't want her to see the sea of neighbors around the emergency vehicles, with their silhouettes shining inside the police car. I didn't want her to see anything.

Myself, on the other hand, continued to see it all, through the back car door window. There must have been fifteen police officers on the scene. Many of them were standing around discussing what occurred in that house. Some continued to walk in and out of our broken home. One of them remained right by the cop car, making sure the attacker from the basement would not try and harm either of us. But after that hit I mustered with the baseball bat, I don't think he will.

My biggest fear though, was not watching the paramedics and police officers follow the gurney Frank was on, to the back of the ambulance. It was when two other paramedics exiled the house with my mother on a gurney and a white sheet covering her whole body. She was gone...Mabel and I were alone. We didn't have a family anymore...it was just the two of us. My emotions attempted once more to win me over, but I fought back. I didn't want to cry...at least, not yet. I really hoped and prayed my mother would survive the wounds from the weapon...I guess I didn't hope hard enough. I inhaled another shaky breath as I tightened my grip on my sister, as she did the same. I didn't want to be the one to tell Mabel about our now deceased mother...I'm saving that responsibility for either a paramedic or a police officer to do. It's just too hard for me.

It had to be twenty minutes of just sitting on the sidelines until the car door opened up. I jumped a bit in fear as Mabel raised her head up, looking at the police officer. He kneeled down to us, as I bit my lip. I wondering if he was the one responsible to tell the heart breaking news that would shatter our hearts and cause more tears to drip down from our thirteen-year-old eyes.

"Kids," The officer began, not making full eye contact with either one of us. "I have some news for the both of you. Firstly, Child Protected Services will arrive to the scene momentarily, and they'll be wanting to ask you some questions about the actions and events that have occurred in your home for some time." He said. Great...just what both of us needed; annoying CPS agents bombarding us with questions and having the power to separate me from my sister. The thought of those people tearing me apart from Mabel is something neither of us should go through. It scared me a lot...I already lost my mother...I don't want to lose Mabel either.

"Secondly, I just received intel about your parents. Your father is going to the hospital for lost of consciousness and will be under strict surveillance to make sure he won't cause any more trouble for you guys." He took a deep breath before he continued. "Your mother..." He said as he sighs allowed, trying to break this tough news to us. "...your mother...unfortunately...did not...did not make it."

"...No." I heard Mabel whisper as I felt her tremble in my grasp. The officer then stands up and places a hand on the car door, looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, kids." He replies and then shuts the door once more. I saw him wipe his own tears from his eyes. I wonder how long he actually knew about the death, and how long he would put off telling us about it. I know it was hard for the officer to relay this news to us, but imagine how harder it would have been for me to say that piece of information to Mabel.

"No! No no no no!" Mabel yells hysterically as she tries to break through my grasp and attempts to escape the back seat of the car door. She wanted to get to mom. I don't blame her...I wanted to see her too. But we can't. No matter how many times we want or wish to see her...we can't. She's gone. She's with the angles. There's nothing either one of us can do to bring our mother back to us.

I continued to fight off Mabel's struggles for an escape, and thankfully, her sadness got the better of her. She broke down and started to wail in tears. I forced her head into my chest once more, as I let her cry out all of her pain. It wasn't long after until I, myself, allowed my emotions to flood through my body, and I cried heavily in Mabel's grasp. With both of us crying and clinging to each other in comfort, neither of us noticed the two ambulances role away with the killer, and our deceased mother.

 **-=O=-**

It wasn't long after the two hospital wagons rolled out that CPS had arrived at the scene. It's headlights shined inside the cop car, blinding me thanks to the rearview mirror. Two agents got out of the car and approached several officers who greeted them, while the officer from earlier, remained by the side of the cop car, having his hand ready to open the door. Our crying had subsided a bit; the time we both dreaded had finally arrived. We both sniffled as we looked at each other in our arms with identical fearful eyes. I would make sure I would leave this place with Mabel tonight. This would not be the end of us. This would not be a goodbye.

"I don't want to talk to CPS." Mabel whispered to me as she tried to pull herself together.

"I don't either, sis." I replied as I placed my hand on her shoulder. "But, we're gonna have to."

"Let's just hope after tonight, those agents don't separate us." Mabel replies looking down, tears once more resurfacing as she starts to breathe heavily. "I...I...I don't want to lose you, Dipper." I pull her in another embrace as her head goes into my shoulder. I took a quick glance behind me as the officer was getting ready to open the door and the CPS agents approaching the side of their car. Quickly, I pull Mabel out of the hug, use my one hand to wipe her tears away and relay my message before we get hammered with a million questions.

"They won't. I'll make sure they won't. I promise you, we will leave this place together. No goodbye." I then placed a kiss on my sister's forehead as she nodded back in response.

Soon after, the officer opened the door and motioned us to get out of the car. We looked at each other, nodded once more in reassurance, and hesitantly stepped out of the car, one by one. Once we met contact with the dirt and gravel, the officer ushered us over towards the two CPS agents. As I got closer towards them, the agents appeared to be two girl agents. The agent closest to their car was dressed in a blazer and dress pants. She had curly dark brown hair which was tied up in a pony tail. She held a clipboard in her one hand and a pen in the other. The other agent, was dressed in a blue and white polkadot dress and tan, strapless sandals. She had dirty blonde hair that draped down to her shoulders. She also, had a clipboard in her hand, similar to her partners as the two of them gave my sister and I sincere smiles as we continued to walk closer towards them.

"Hello, kids." The agent closest to the car greeted as we stopped in front of them. Mabel stood behind me in shyness, as the two us grabbed hold of each other's hands. "My name is Ms. Lindy. And, this is my parter, Ms. Starr. We're here to take care of you this evening, and get you to a safer environment." The agent said.

"When do we leave?" I ask, clearing my throat to hide the fear in my voice, yet both agents could clearly hear it.

"Not for a while, sweetie." Ms. Lindy replied.

"We have some questions we need to ask you both about your family situation, and the chaos that has erupted this evening." Ms. Starr added on.

"So, I say, to make things go a bit quicker, I'll talk to Mabel one on one, and Ms. Starr can talk with Mason one on one." Ms. Lindy said with a smile. My heart immediately stopped. This was my worst nightmare coming true. They were going to separate us? Would this just be for the questions? Was this a sick plan to separate me from my sister forever? It can't be! I promised Mabel we would stay together. No! I'm not saying goodbye to her! This, I will not allow!

Allowing my emotions to get the better of me, I frantically started to breathe heavily. "No!" I shouted as I extended my arms to keep my sister behind me. She grabbed on to my right arm as I scowled at the two agents. "NO! No one is separating me from my twin sister! You can't and will not separate us!" I spat. The two agents looked at each other in disbelief and quickly jotted down notes on their identical clipboards. Mabel came out from behind and we both held each other tightly. I wouldn't let these two agents from CPS rip me apart from my twin. I wouldn't let officer's from every angle rip me apart from my twin. Nothing in this world would rip me apart from _my twin._

Ms. Lindy gently kneeled down in front of us, putting her clipboard to the side. "No one is going to separate you from your twin, Mason." Ms. Lindy said. "Ms. Starr and I just thought it would be easier if we heard both sides of the story, from two different points of view."

"We wanted to do the questions with you separately, if that is okay with the both of you." Mabel and I looked at each other, exchanging the expression if we should trust these two CPS agents. "And, we promise, you both will leave this scene tonight, together." Ms. Starr said.

After looking at my twin sister for several moments, she gave me the look to trust them. If what these two agents say is truthful, then I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go through these questions separately. I nodded my head to her, and she did the same as we released our previous embrace and took hold of one another's hands once more. As long as I'm with Mabel by the end of the night, then everything should be okay. I turn towards the agents with a grim, stern face and nodded to the both of them.

"Alright. We'll do it."

 **-=O=-**

My questions took place in the back of the police car I was in earlier with my sister, while Mabel inquiries took place in the back of the CPS vehicle. Some of the questions Ms. Starr asked me were a combination of easiness and difficulty. Other questions shook me down to the core, and I had trouble answering them. Including the one about Frank and the weapon he pointed at me. Although, Ms. Starr continued to tell me how admired she was as to how I stood up to the attacker and protected Mabel. Even though Mabel is technically the big sister between us, we're still twins. Twins look out for each other, despite how agitated we get. No matter what goes on through my life or my sister's, I'll always be there for her, even if it means I have to act like the older sibling. Mabel's safety is my first priority. And I know she feels the exact same way.

Luckily, the questions only lasted about ten minutes or so, and soon it was time to leave the scene. Ms. Starr led me out of the cop car and towards the CPS vehicle. Ms. Lindy had just finished up her line of questions to Mabel about the traumatic events. Ms. Starr and Ms. Lindy both led me to the back seat of the vehicle where I was back with my sister. It wasn't long after until the CPS agents got in the car as well, and drove us away from the scene. We made it. We were safe. And most importantly, we were not separated.

"You were right, Dipper." Mabel said as I turn to look at her. She takes a hold of my hand and smiles faintly towards me, where I return the same gesture. "No goodbye."

* * *

 **A/N: This concludes the second installment of _No Goodbye._ It's not as long as I was hoping for, but I'm still glad about how it all turned out. Coming up next, we will figure out where the twins could stay with while in a temporary foster home. Next update should be by next week! See you all in part 3! **

**-Williebadger618**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys. Thanks for your comments back in chapter 2. This is the next installment of _No Goodbye._ I'm not giving away any spoilers. Let's start this thing!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **-Williebadger618**

* * *

No Goodbye-Part III

 **Dipper's POV:**

The car ride was quiet between my sister and I, despite the constant sound of her sniffles. The two CPS agents were speaking softly amongst themselves, most likely talking about us. Thank goodness though, that this night was coming towards an end. But just because this night was over doesn't mean the thoughts and images would leave my mind anytime soon. I don't think I will get any sleep tonight. Even though my body was crying to tell me to sleep, those moments from tonight would haunt me to the core.

About twenty minutes of driving away from our home, the car pulled into a parking lot of a house. I thought somebody else was getting taken into custody by the Child Protective Services. But little did I know, this was a foster home. The two agents exiled out of the parked vehicle, while Ms. Lindy opened up the back seat of the car door for Mabel and I to step out. She and I unbuckled our seat belts and stepped out. Getting a better look of the home, it appeared as if it would fall down at any given moment. It was brown and had wall stones, creaky steps, and everything hanging by a hook outside was rusted. This is where we're going to stay?

The CPS agents ushered us inside the house. I personally thought it would smell like dirty gym socks, yet the inside decor was much more exquisite than the outside. Bright paint colors on the walls, unripped furniture, and no small bullet holes. This is what home use to look like...until...the incident. Shortly after we all entered, another lady entered the room, who was wearing similar dress attire as the two agents who brought us here. The only difference is that she had ginger hair and wore glasses; she reminded me of Wendy back up in Gravity Falls. Minus the spectacles.

"Good evening agents Lindy and Starr." The redhead said casually. "Who did you pick up this time?" Whoa...talk about a warm welcome.

"Yes, Mrs. Megan. These are thirteen-year-olds Mason and Mabel Pines." Ms. Lindy responded politely. She stared down at us and Mabel and I grabbed one another's hands once more. She stayed behind me, as I looked up back at Mrs. Megan. It seemed as if she was observing us, getting a snapshot of our personas. I thought that she and I were in a constant staring contest; I'm not even sure if she blinked.

After several moments, Mrs. Megan finally broke the silence between us all. "Mhm...twins, I presume?" She asks the agents.

"Yes." Ms. Starr said. "Five minutes apart, and very-"

"Silence." Mrs. Megan said, extending a hand towards them to be quiet. "I've heard enough. I'm sure you have all their information in the documents presented, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ms. Starr replied. "Would you like to see them?"

"Well, if you're dumping the twins here, then don't you think its a good idea for me to have the paperwork?" Mrs. Megan replied in an annoyed tone. Boy...someone has a chip on her shoulder. Here, the agents are trying to be all nice-nice with Mrs. Megan, yet she is just acting like a grumpy old lady. Man, and I thought Grunkle Stan was bad when we first visited him for the summer.

"Of course, ma'am." Ms. Lindy replies as both agents remove the papers from their clipboards and hand them to Mrs. Megan. She practically rips them out of their hands as she continues to grow more and more agitated. Again, I ask myself, this is where we're going to stay?

"Alright, I'll take it from here agents. Goodnight." Mrs. Megan replies. The two agents patted their hands on both my head and my sister's before our current caretaker practically kicks them out of the foster home. Mrs. Megan then takes our documents and places them on a table in the next room over. She then, sighs aloud before she turns and faces Mabel and I once more.

"Alright kids. It's after 10:00p so I bet you're all tired from tonight. Tomorrow, I will sit down with you two and we'll discuss what's to come. In the meantime, let me show you to your bedrooms." She says, starting to go up the staircase. I couldn't help but hear that she said "bedrooms". Umm...Mabel and I have shared a room ever since we were born. And after everything we've been through this evening, I think the last thing she and I would both want is to sleep in separate rooms. Maybe if I tell Mrs. Megan in a calm way, she would reconsider.

"Umm...Mrs. Megan?" I began. She stops suddenly as she grips the handrail and looks down towards me, shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

"What is it, Mason?" She replies stubbornly. I can't believe she remembered my name that quickly.

I take a deep breath before I continue. "Uh, well...you see...Mabel and I...we, kinda have been sharing a bedroom our whole life. Couldn't you let us, you know...share a bedroom together?" I ask her, with Mabel nodding and sending her hopeful eyes.

"Not in this house. Even siblings such as yourself have separate bedrooms." She replies, snarling in the process.

"But-" I try, but she cuts me off.

"NO EXCEPTIONS!" She yells. Mabel and I instantly stepped back when she yelled. The yelling brought back memories between my mother and Frank. The constant screams which tore the family apart. "Now, follow me kids." She replies as she continues up the staircase. My sister and I quickly share a glance with each other, as the two of us continued to hold one another's hands. We squeezed them in comfort as we both began to ascend up the staircase.

Once we reached the top, we followed her down a narrow hallway with two bedrooms across from one another, and a bathroom separating the two. The one on the left was Mabel's room, while the one on the right was mine. She sent us to our bedrooms and told us not to leave them until 8am. With that, she shut's both our bedroom doors and begins to walk back through the hallway and descend down the staircase.

Turning on a lamp, I was able to find my bed. It was a single cot with a blue blanket towards the foot of the bed. I quietly take off my shoes and lay down on the mattress. It was hard and lumpy; good thing I really wouldn't be sleeping tonight. I was too frightened to. Every time I blinked, I could see the image of Frank pointing the weapon at me. If I fell asleep, I would relive the nightmare in my dreams. The nightmare that shattered our family into a million pieces. Nothing in this world would fix the mess that was made. It's collateral damage that cannot be repaired. Frank turned psycho. He killed my mom and almost killed both myself, and Mabel. He was armed while we were defenseless. If I didn't find that baseball bat down in the basement, there's a high chance we would have joined mom in the afterlife. I just laid on my back, trying my best to think about something else besides what happened this evening.

After ten minutes of quietness, I heard my door squeak open a bit as a head peaked its way into my temporary bedroom. At first, I thought it was Mrs. Megan, checking to see if I was sleeping, but it was none other than my twin sister.

"Mabel?" I whispered. "Mrs. Megan said we're not allowed to leave the bedrooms until 8am." I say, slightly frightened for her safety. I didn't know what this Mrs. Megan was capable of. I just hope she wasn't the one to give kids brutal punishments...Mabel and I have been through that too much these past few months. Despite what I said to my sister, she sneaks through the opening of the door, and shuts it quietly behind her. She then stands by the gateway and sends me a faint smile.

"I know...I just thought, we could both use a friend." She replied. Even though I feared we would both get caught sharing my bedroom tonight, none of that mattered to me. I motioned Mabel to come over quietly as she crawled up on my bed. Both of us laid on our sides, facing each other as we grab one another's hands in comfort. Being with Mabel always reminded me that she and I were okay. But even though we've been through hell so far, I knew as long as I had her, things were okay.

I let my tired body shift into the unconscious state, never letting go of my sister's hand.

 **-=O=-**

Mabel and I kept having nightmares that night. Every time one of us had a nightmare, we would jolt awake in fright and the waterworks would start to erupt. Mabel seemed to have more nightmares than I did, and every night terror was worse than the last. The scariest nightmare that both brought chills to our spines, is Frank killing our mother in front of us, and then turning the weapon right on himself. Neither one of us got a good night's rest.

Despite the bags under our eyes, Mabel and I went downstairs by 8am to see if we could get some food in our stomachs. As we descended down the staircase and towards the kitchen, we were stopped by the voice of Mrs. Megan from her office.

"Children, do you mind coming in here for a moment?" She replied. But this time, she was acting nicer. Whoa. What happened to her? Last night she was acting like the wicked witch of the west. This morning, she's acting like a lady who found her soulmate. Hesitantly, we enter into the office and take a seat on identical wooden chairs. Her office had a shade of powder blue on the walls, along with a marble desk countertop and a smart computer. Three bookshelves were on every side of the room, with labels on every drawer: "Last names starting with..." every label read. She seemed very organized for someone who works in a foster home.

Mrs. Megan shuffles together the documents handed to her last evening before she begins to speak with us. "I read through what the CPS agents recorded down." She says as she places the papers down and folds her hands together. "I can't believe something so traumatizing occurred in that house last night. I'm so sorry you kids had to experience that." She replied. Mabel and I look at each other with identical puzzling faces. Was this the same lady who yelled at us last night? She got all sympathetic with us. Maybe the documents filled with our information really touched her heartstrings.

"I would also like to apologize for the way I talked towards you two last night. I just hate it when I get late drop offs after 9:30pm. But I'm not a bad person." Okay, maybe that too. Mabel and I nodded back towards Mrs. Megan, and thats when she cleared her throat and sighed aloud. "So now its my job to help you kids get through this. Do you, by any chance, happen to know any other family members or relatives that you could possibly stay with?" She asked. As soon as she asked that question, Mabel and I both thought of the exact same thing.

"Our Great Uncles." We both ended up saying in unison.

"Yeah. Our Great Uncle Stanford and Stanley Pines. They live up in Gravity Falls, Oregon in a tourist trap called the Mystery Shack." I added on.

"Okay, great. If you know the number, can you please right it down for me so I may get in touch with them?" Mrs. Megan asks, hanging me both a pen and a piece of paper. I quickly take both items and write down the phone number to the Mystery Shack. Once I finished, I handed it back to the lady and she nods back to me. "Thank you, Mason." She replies. "You two may go into the kitchen and grab a bite to eat. There are pancakes and orange juice on the table. Help yourself. I will call you both back in my office the minute I receive any news." Mrs. Megan says. Hearing about breakfast made my stomach grumble; and it wasn't long until Mabel and I both exiled out of the office and into the kitchen. We sat down at the kitchen table and grabbed a handful of pancakes and a cup of orange juice. Everything was delicious. It felt good to finally have food in my stomach.

After some time passed, Mabel broke the silence between the two of us. "Bro?"

"Yeah?" I replied, with pancake still in my mouth.

"Aren't Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford still on their voyage?" Mabel asked. Oh, crap. I totally forgot about their boating trip. They left as soon as we did, getting out in the ocean. They were discovering new threats and anomalies in the arctic ocean; doing the one thing they wanted to do since they were our age. And, the arctic ocean is all the way up by the north pole.

"Yeah..." I reply in a sad tone, but then I thought about the bright side. "But, maybe they're on their way back to Gravity Falls!"

"You think so?" Mabel asked.

"Yeah. I mean, its almost Thanksgiving. They have to be back in town by now." I say, putting a positive spin on the conversation.

"I hope so." She replies, continuing to eat the last bits of food on her plate. And boy, do I hope so too. I mean, they have to dock somewhere for Thanksgiving. And I just hope that somewhere, is in Gravity Falls.

Just as soon as we were putting our dirty plates in the sink, we heard Mrs. Megan call us back to her office. We quickly walked down the hall and entered the room, taking a seat once more. I looked at her face...she wasn't smiling. If anything, I was looking at the face I saw last night. The only difference was that she was frowning. Uh, oh. Something was wrong.

"Kids, I put a call into the Mystery Shack up in Gravity Falls like you said." She began, and then sighed aloud once more. "I'm afraid I bring you both some bad news." Man, those are never good words. Whenever those words are spoken towards us, I immediately think the worse possible scenarios. But I didn't want to think about those when it came to our Grunkles. I'd rather just hear the news before I let the emotions get the better of me. I felt a hand grasp into mine as I look down towards it. It was my sisters. She was nervous; I could feel her shaking. I squeeze her hand in comfort as we waited for Mrs. Megan to deliver the news.

I couldn't help but ask this. "Did something bad happen to our Great Uncles?" I figure I ask that question just so I'm prepared.

"No. Nothing like that." She said. Immediately, Mabel and I let out a huge sigh of relief. They were okay. They were fine. That's a good sign. But, if nothing happened to them, then how could there possibly be bad news?

...Uh oh.

"I talked to a man on the phone, Soos. He told me the last time he heard from your Great Uncles, was about two weeks ago. And according to him, they were on the opposite side of the country, up by the Arctic Ocean in a boat. He heard that the two of them are heading towards the Atlantic Ocean and plan to dock in New Jersey to reminisce through the town they grew up in. They won't be in Gravity Falls again until most likely Christmas." She said. Mabel and I grew depressed. It's great the two of them are going on adventures and stuff, but I was really hoping for them to be in Gravity Falls by now. More importantly, I didn't feel like being stuck here for a month.

"Did you try to see if there is another way to reach them?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, the man suggested their cellphones, but he said they won't have cell service until they dock. And who knows when that will be. He never said." Mrs. Megan replied. "Is there by any chance any other relatives you could think of that I could put a call into?" She asked. I couldn't really think who else there was in my family. My mother's deceased, Frank is insane, our grandmother has Alzheimers Disease so I don't think she'll remember us, grandad has brain cancer, my aunt and uncle live all the way in England, and our great grandparents died a short time ago. There's literally nobody else I can think of that we can stay with.

Disappointedly, I shake my head in response, as Mabel grasped onto my hand once more, squeezing it in comfort. Mrs. Megan sighs aloud again before she speaks out. Dang, she does that a lot. "Well, when you do, let me know. You two can do whatever you want in the meantime." She says. Mabel and I nod our heads in response, and then head back upstairs to my bedroom.

 _"Those poor kids..."_

 **-=O=-**

Mabel and I spent most of the morning up in my bedroom, mainly talking about anything that came to mind, besides the incident from last night. We discussed our past adventures back in Gravity Falls, school, and about our friends. We shared funny stories that we either never heard of, or haven't heard in a long time. Other times, we would make our own entertainment. Anything and everything so that our minds were off the current situation we were facing. These moments reminded me how things use to be like before Frank went crazy. Our whole family use to be wild and crazy and fun to be around. But not anymore...we don't have a family anymore...it's permanently broken.

It had to be around 1pm when we both received a surprise visit from Mrs. Megan. She seemed utterly shocked that Mabel and I were in the same bedroom. I recalled last night she wanted siblings in their own bedrooms, but I just figured that was for nighttime purposes only. However, despite what she said last night, she didn't utter one word about it. That's good.

"Hi kids." She began. "I bring you some more news about one of your family members." Oh boy. More news. Just what we both need.

"Did somebody else die?" Mabel asked nervously.

"No." Mrs. Megan says, taking a seat at the foot of my bed.

"Is it something bad?" I ask, yet she ignores my question, and goes on telling the news.

"Children, I received a call from a doctor at Piedmont General Hospital. Your father-" She says, but I cut her off.

"You mean, Frank." I say coldly. That man is no longer my father. After pointing that weapon towards my sister and I, killing our mother, and almost killing us, why should I even attempt to call him "dad"?

"Yes...Frank..." Mrs. Megan replies awkwardly. "It appears Frank has regained consciousness and he wishes to see you two." Dang it; I should have added more force to the bat when I first hit him. I couldn't believe he regained consciousness so soon. Was Frank seriously asking to see my sister and I? The man who tried to kill us, wants us to pay him a hospital visit? The man who took our mother away from us last night and is now living with the angels? The man who has caused us nothing but pain and suffering for months? He doesn't deserve to see either one of us. Besides, he may have tricks up his sleeve and attempt to hurt us again. I don't want to take a chance.

"What? No way!" Mabel says in fear

"Yeah! Why would Frank even want to see us?"

"The doctor claims Frank would like to apologize for the mistakes he has made to you guys before he is sent to jail." Mrs. Megan replied.

"Apology NEVER accepted!" Mabel replies with her arms folded across her chest. "Not after he almost killed us...and taking our mother away." She started sniffling again as I put my arm around her, rubbing her shoulder in comfort.

"Yeah." I agree, sniffling as well at the thought of my deceased mother. "Plus, who's to say he won't try and hurt us again in that hospital room?" I say to Mrs. Megan who has been nodding to all of our comments.

"The doctor said that a police officer would be more than willing to stay in the room with you guys to act as a 'bodyguard'." She says.

"Well, bodyguard or not, I refuse to see him. Not after everything he's done to us. He'll never know the heartaches we have to live with now for the rest of our lives. He'll never understand. I don't even think he's even sorry for what he did! I don't want to go see him. And I'm sure my brother doesn't either. Right bro?" Mabel says. I was going to agree, but yet, a thought occurred to me. Mabel had a point; Frank would never understand everything we now have to live with. He probably doesn't feel sympathetic at all. Yet, this would be the last time I would ever see him in my life before he's behind bars and surrounded by concrete walls. He has to live what he put us through in that cell. I think I should see him, and give him a message before he goes to prison.

"Are you sure there will be a police officer in the room?" I ask Mrs. Megan.

"What?!" Mabel asks, shaking her head in disbelief.

"That's what the doctor told me." She replies.

"...And, am I allowed to say anything to Frank before he goes to prison?" I question.

"Anything you want, Mason." She says.

"Dipper! You can't be serious!" Mabel says in anger and fear.

"I'll just give you two a minute. I'll be in the hall." Mrs. Megan says, standing up, and letting herself out of my bedroom. I turn to Mabel and attempted to calm her down, yet her emotions got the better of her.

"You are not going to that hospital!" Mabel yells. "Why do you even want to go there?!"

"Because, I can finally tell him what a complete jerk he was to us and to mom. I figure since he has to live with the actions that lead him to this point, he can live with the words I plan to tell him." I reply.

"But, what if he attempts to hurt you?! What if he is armed?"

"It's a hospital; the chances of him being armed is next to none. Plus, the police officer will be in the room with me." I say. I could see the waterworks begin to resurface in her eyes.

"No, Dipper! Don't go! It's too risky."

"It'll be fine." I say. "I'll be okay."

"No! Don't go! I can't..." She says, but her sadness begins to consume her entire body.

"You can't what?"

"I can't l-lose you! We already lost mom...I don't want to be alone in this life without you in it! Please, Dipper. Don't leave me!" She cries. I then take action and embrace my sister tightly, with her head going into my shoulder. She cried intensely from time to time as I patted her back. I let her get all of it out of her system for some time, until I release the hug and place my hands on her shoulders, looking straight in her eyes.

"I promise you when I say I will come back to you." I tell her as she wipes the tears from her eyes. "Frank deserves every word I'm going to tell him. I'm making sure every word I say will stick to him for the rest of his life. I'm going to be using words that will scar and hurt him, even if he doesn't show it. I'm doing this for us. I'm doing this for mom. I'm doing it for you."

Mabel, with tears continuing to drip from her eyes, gives me a unsure look. "But-"

"Hey," I say, cutting her off. "Remember what I've been telling you since last night when we thought we would get separated?"

"That...that we would make it through?"

"And...?"

"No...no goodbye?" She asks, sniffling in the process.

"U-huh. Believe me when I say I will come back. No goodbye, Mabel. Okay?"

She takes a deep breath and nods her head in response. I place a gentle kiss on her forehead and pull her in one final embrace before I would call Mrs. Megan back into the room. This is something I had to do. I wanted Frank to know all the stuff he's put us through. All the pain. All the suffering. I figure I would throw all of it back in his face with words that would sting and effect him while in prison. He had a right to know. And I would be the one to say it all.

"Please, be careful, Dip." Mabel says before we release one another.

"I will." I say. I broke the hug and sent her a faint smile. "No goodbye."

"No goodbye." She repeats.

I then clear my throat, wipe away my tears that supposedly made its way out of my own eyes, and stand up from the bed. "Mrs. Megan?"

I hear soft footsteps from the outside of my bedroom, and the squeaky sound of the door opening once more. "Yes?"

"I'll go see him. I have some stuff I need to get off my chest."

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! Chapter 3 is done! I'm happy how it turned out! Coming up next, Dipper will encounter Frank in the hospital. What will Dipper say to Frank before he gets sent to prison? Find out in chapter 4! Which will be coming soon! Maybe by the weekend! I don't know! :)**

 **See you in the next section!**

 **-Williebadger618**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys. Thanks for the comments back in chapter 3. This is the next installment of _No Goodbye._ I bet you're wondering what Dipper intends to say to Frank, so instead of thinking, let's begin to read! **

**Enjoy!**

 **-Williebadger618**

* * *

No Goodbye-Part IV

 **Dipper's POV:**

Mrs. Megan, Mabel, and myself patiently awaited for the officer to stop by and pick me up to take me to the hospital. Mrs. Megan walked back and forth between rooms while Mabel and I sat on a bench by the front door, hands clasped together. Time after time, my sister would squeeze my hand in comfort; something told her I was starting to grow nervous. I don't know if it was from my constant foot tapping, or the shaky breath I exhaled. I guess what made me nervous was the thought of what Frank was capable of. I mean, sure a cop would be in the room with me while I talked to Frank, but I just didn't know if he would try and attempt to hurt me or worse. But this is something I want to do. Let the words I say sting. Let the words I say hit him hard and effect him while he rots in that jail cell. He deserves everything I intend to tell him; and I'm not backing down.

A faint knock was heard at the front door after waiting for twenty minutes. My sister and I stand up simultaneously and walk towards the doorway while Mrs. Megan retreats from her office to get the door. Surprisingly, standing in the doorway was the same officer from last night. The one who escorted us out of our house. The one who delivered the message about Frank and mom. I was quite shock to see him once more.

"Good afternoon." The officer greeted. "I am here to pick up Mason Pines and escort him to Piedmont General Hospital." He said, sending a faint smile towards my direction. Even though I don't know the officer's name, I felt kind of relieved it was him taking me to my destination, and not some other random cop.

"Of course." Mrs. Megan replies, and then turning towards Mabel and I. "Are you ready to go, Mason?" I take a big deep breath, squeeze Mabel's hand in reassurance, and nod towards her. At that moment, we all exile out of the foster home and towards the parking lot where the cop car sat. The officer opens the back door to allow me to step inside. I turned to Mabel one final time and give her a quick embrace before entering the vehicle. She squeezes me intensely for some moments; I believe she was thinking this would be the last time she would see me. But before I separated from her, I whisper the words I've been telling her since last night.

 _"No goodbye, Mabel."_

With that, I release the hug from my sister and got in the car. The officer shuts it for me, as I roll down the window. I kept my eyes locked on my sister as she did the same, until the officer step into the drivers seat, started the car, and begin to pull away. My sister waved at me as I waved back, knowing that once I fulfill this duty, this weight of anxiety and the tight knots in my stomach would soon be gone. All I had to do now, was remember the key components I wish to tell Frank.

 **-=O=-**

The officer and I made it to the hospital in just a short fifteen minutes from the foster home. When we entered, a kind nurse handed the two of us visitor passes, and told us we could find Frank all the way up to the fifth floor. Room 505. As we walked down the hallway towards the elevator, I could easily hear the repetitive sound of my footsteps. It was very quiet...more quiet than the local library. It was freaky. Being here brought eerie feelings to my stomach as it continued to do flips. Sure, I was obviously scared, but I wanted to do this. I made it this far and I'm not turning around now.

"Are you nervous, Mason?" The officer asked as we stopped in front of the elevator, waiting for the doors to open.

"A little bit." I reply. "I'm just hoping that he won't make any attempts to hurt me." I say honestly.

"Don't worry, kid. He'll be restrained in the bed, so he won't be putting his hands on you. Plus, I'll be in the room with you, acting as a body guard, incase he acts out." The officer replies as the elevator doors open and we step inside the shaft. He presses the button to take us up to the fifth floor.

"Am I allowed to say anything I want to say to Frank?" I ask the officer in reassurance.

"Of course. Anything you wish to say is fine by me. Don't feel contained to hold back any of your emotions. You say what you need to say. I won't stop you." The officer replies.

"Thank you, officer..." I say while trying to look at his name tag, pinned to his uniform.

"Fisher. Officer Charles Fisher." He responds. "And, you're welcome."

The elevator reached the fifth floor as the doors opened and we stepped out. I was just feet away from Frank Pines...the man who changed my entire life. This was the moment I've waited for...and hopefully things will be okay and happen the way I picture it in my mind.

 **-=O=-**

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

A doctor opens the door to room 505 seconds later as my stomach violently clenched up and I bite my lip. The doctor looks at Officer Fisher, and then looks down at me, sending me a faint smile.

"Yes, officer, can I help you?" The doctor asks.

"Frank Pines, wishes to see his son, Mason Pines, for a brief period of time." Officer Fisher replies to the man in a lab coat.

"Very well. Follow me." The doctor replies as he opens the door all the way and we both enter the hospital room; officer Fisher leading the way. The doctor escorts us towards the bed, closest to the doc,r where I see none other than Frank, lying on the bed. Three body straps restrained him in the cot, that way he's immobilized to move anything except his head. It only takes the killer ten seconds to turn his gaze from the television to me, standing right next to the cop. Frank grows a smile on his face with his eyes locked on mine. Only difference was that my eyes were filled with hatred.

"Mason!" He exclaims happily as the doctor who let us in, leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. "I'm surprised to see you!" I made no attempt to say any words to this man. He's the man who killed my mother. He's the man who pointed that killing weapon at both myself and my twin sister. He's the man who rip this family at the seams. And I know for a fact he's not sorry for what he has done.

"Where's Mabel?" He asks me with my hands in my vest pockets. I was secretly flipping him off as he spoke. "I would like to speak with her, too."

"Not here." I say in a quiet voice. "She doesn't want to see you. Not after what _you did!"_ I spat in anger.

"I understand. But about last night, I'm-" He begins, but I cut him off, letting all my anger out.

"What?! Are you gonna say: _'I'm sorry for what I did'_? or _'I don't know what I was thinking'_? or _'I never meant to try and hurt you guys'_? Do you really believe an apology will fix the mistakes you made? Will help bring our "family" back together? Will make me even believe in forgiving you?" I said hastily.

"No. But if you let me-" He tries once more, but I cut him off again.

"I will never forgive you! The trouble you caused is irreversible. The actions you made cannot be undone. You have to live with the fucking hole you dug for this family!"

"It's not all that bad..." Frank says. "You still have your mother...right?" I guess nobody told him what happened.

"She's dead!" I yelled as tears started to form in my eyes. His expression turned into shock when I delivered that unexpected news to him. I'm just glad I wasn't the one to tell Mabel last night in the back of the police car.

"D-dead?"

"YES! DEAD! You killed her with that weapon!" I said with my hands coming out from my pockets and clenching into fists. "Thanks to you, Mabel and I are now living in a foster home!"

"Listen, Mason. I don't know what I was doing-" I gave him no opportunity to finish that sentence. I just kept yelling at him, hoping for what I really prepared to say would stick with him once he gets sent to jail.

"Don't give me any of that bullshit, Frank! I know for a fact _you_ are not sympathetic for anything that happened last night! After the shit you put me through...put my twin sister through...put _mom_ through? Do you really think after all the abuse and agony you caused the three of us can just be pushed under the rug? Thanks to you, our family is broken. There's nothing you can say, or do, that will ever give me the wits to forgive you. You are a fucked up individual. And I hope for those charges against you, you _rot_ in that prison. I hope you never see the light of day again. I hope you stay in jail for life."

"Can I please explain myself, son?" He asks me.

"HELL NO! No matter what you say, nothing will change my mind. I never want to see you again. Not after constantly abusing my sister and I! Not after attempting to kill us in that basement! Not after _killing my mother!_ " I cried. Letting my emotions starting to get the better of me. Officer Fisher spoke no words during the confrontation between the two of us. Yet I kept glancing at him, looking at his facial expressions. He seemed quite shocked with the verbal messages I continued to send to Frank.

"I didn't mean to do any of that stuff..." Frank says, but I denied it.

"DON'T GIVE ME ANY OF THAT BULLSHIT!" I screamed once more. "You'll never be sorry! You've been doing it for months! If you were truly sorry, you would have stopped with the brutal punishments the first time you administered them. But you're not! And you'll never will be. You're fucked up in the head! Something is radically wrong with you! No amount of apologies will ever withstand how ANGRY I am with you. But do you want to know the one thing that turned out good throughout that entire crime scene last night at the house?" I howled at him with angry, hurtful eyes.

"What's that?"

"I still have Mabel." I said with tears escaping through my eyes. "I lost mom, and you're mentally incapable of anything besides breathing! But at least I don't have to grow up alone. As long as I have my twin sister with me, I know I'll be okay in this game called life."

"Son, I-"

"I'm _not_ you're son. You're _not_ my father in my eyes. All I see in you now is a fucked up individual. An abusive person. An aggressive human being. A drunk. An asshole. A bastard. A liar. A traitor. _A killer."_

I turn my back from Frank and leave the presence of my former father, continuously starring at me in awe. He was clearly surprised by my found voice in confidence. I knew for a fact he was not expecting that from me at all. Months ago, when Mabel and I were in trouble for something Frank caused, I attempted to stand up to him several times before we would get abused again...but I was too scared and stubborn to say anything to him. This time, it was different. He was defenseless. He was restrained. And now, he was going to jail and live with not only the consequences that caused this turning point, but also the words I shouted towards him. He had it coming. He just wasn't expecting it.

Officer Fisher left the room several moments after I did, shutting the door behind him. He and I begin to walk back down the hallway of the hospital, heading back towards the elevator that took us up to this floor. I wiped the tears still coming out of my eyes as I took deep breaths. Officer Fisher patted my back in reassurance that everything was okay.

"Wow." The officer exclaimed as we both entered into the elevator once more. "I never would expect that from you, Mason. How do you feel?" He asked me, pressing a button to take us back to the main lobby. I honestly felt so much better. I'm happy I was able to get all of my feelings off my chest. The feelings of anger, despair, agony, and fearfulness. Although I will not know how much time Frank would be serving in jail, I'm just glad I don't have to worry about him in my life anytime soon. Mabel and I were free from the burden he put us through for months. We'll never have to suffer through brutal punishments ever again from Frank. We were free from him.

"Better than when I first came here."

* * *

 **A/N: Part 4 complete! It's kind of short, but I'm saving things up for the final chapter! I'm not telling you what's to come for part 5, but what I can say, is something far unexpected. Next update may be by next weekend. But, we're reaching the end of this fic. And I can safely say there will be a happy ending for Dipper and Mabel. You're just gonna have to wait and find out. See you all in the final installment of _No Goodbye._**

 **-Williebadger618**


	5. Chapter 5

**The moment you've been waiting for has finally come! The finale of _No Goodbye_ is sitting there, waiting to be read right now on FanFiction. I made this chapter extra long because you guys are so awesome. A big story like this deserves a big ending. So what are you doing still reading this Author's Note? Go! Read! Are you reading yet? Go do it! AHHHH!**

 **IDK why I did that...I'm just so glad there will be a happy ending to this. Lol**

 **-Williebadger618**

* * *

No Goodbye-Part V

 **Dipper's POV:**

"Here you are, Mason." Officer Fisher says as he pulls up to the foster home. Hard to believe just twenty minutes ago, I was in that hospital room with the killer, letting out my rage. It was something that has been eating away at me for a long time. There was ample opportunities that I could have vocalized my ammunition and feelings towards Frank when his punishments started to get severe back in that house. But every time I tried to open my mouth, I was greeted with a slap in the face that stung harder than a bee sting. If I didn't have the chance to let out my sentiments today to that asshole, then I don't know when I would have done it. Maybe when he would be in jail and he would ask my sister and I to visit him. But I'll never be seeing him again. And he can stew on all the words I sent him, because those words are what define Frank Pines. And that's not false information.

As soon as the officer shifted the gears into park, I unbuckled my seatbelt and went to open the door to step out. When I shut the car door, I started making my way towards the entrance of the foster home, until the cop stops me in my tracks. "Hey." he began as my head turned towards the driver's seat. "Way to be brave and stick up for yourself back there. You truly had the guts to stand up to that man. Be very proud of yourself." He said. I smile at him with pride, as I thought back to the words I said. Of course walking into that hospital room, I was ready to shit my pants. But after I spoke those words towards that killer, I walked out of that room with my head held high. Frank won too many battles between him and I. But in this case, I won the war.

"Thank you, Officer Fisher." I replied, beaming towards him with a smile.

"Anytime." He then shifts the gears into reverse, and starts to pull away from the home. "Good luck to you, and your sister." He says. He then shifts into drive and merges back into traffic. I remained outside with my hands in my vest pockets until the cop car was out of sight. I know for the rest of my life, I will never forget that officer. I then turn around and make my way up the concrete steps and back into the house.

The second I walked in, I was greeted with my sister running down the steps and approaching me quickly. She threw her arms around me in a tight embrace, happy that I was back from the hospital. I return the hug, yet gentler than the grip she had on me. After a few moments, she releases me and fixes my hat.

"How did it go? Was he mad? Did he try to hurt you at all?" Mabel asks while bombarding me with questions. I was just about to reply to her inquiries until Mrs. Megan walked in the doorway from her office.

"Welcome back, Mason." Mrs. Megan greeted with a smile on her face. "How was your visit?"

"It went good. Nothing bad to complain about." I say. I then look towards Mabel and take her hand in comfort. "But I knew for a fact he was not expecting any outbursts from me." My sister looks back at me with a smile growing on her face, glad that I stood up to our long term bully.

"Do you feel better now that you spoke with him?" Mrs. Megan asks me.

"Yeah, I do. Very much so." I replied honestly. It was turning out to be a happy ending to a good first day here at the foster home. I would no longer encounter any more stomach flips, hyperventilating issues or worries when it came to Frank. He would be going to jail with charges he had no idea existed. He would be behind bars, not able to hurt, injure or kill anybody he saw. Mabel and I were safe and free from that maniac. We could finally be at peace.

Mrs. Megan smiles towards the both of us and tells us we can do whatever we wanted for the remainder of the day. We both nod towards her and head back upstairs to my bedroom where I would tell Mabel everything I said to Frank while the memory was still fresh in my head.

I mentioned everything that was spoken in that hospital room; from the moment he said my name to the last word I said to him. Mabel was quite surprised with the verbal words I chose to say to him; she never knew I had so much fury inside my nerdy mind. She was glad with how every turned out, but more happy that I came home in once piece. I realized earlier that she was scared to let me go there today, but I knew for a fact I would come back to her. Nothing would separate us from each other. Not the crazy Time Bubble during Weirdmageddon, not Child Protected Services, not even visiting the killer who cost my mothers life. I still had years down this life long path with Mabel; I don't plan to say goodbye any time soon.

My sister and I spent the remainder of the day hibernating upstairs, telling stories and keeping each other company. We ate pizza around 7pm that evening, each taking four pieces to chow on. Once we finished, we both headed upstairs for the rest of the night, watching videos on my phone until we drifted off to sleep on my bed. Around 10p, I heard the floorboards creak as soft footsteps approached my temporary bedroom. I figured it was Mrs. Megan checking up on us. In my head, I thought she would wake us up and send Mabel to her room. Instead I assumed she peaked her head in for a brief moment and shut the door completely. Huh...looks like siblings can share a bedroom if they want to. Mabel and I intend to keep it that way until we feel its time to break for space of our own. But now, she was all I had and all I needed to keep going through life...and I couldn't ask for a better sister than Mabel.

 **-=O=-**

The following morning, Mabel and I woke up a little later than yesterday; a whole extra hour of sleep to be exact. After stretching our limbs and cracking our bones to wake them up, the two of us headed downstairs where two plates of scrambled eggs waited for us on the kitchen table. She and I sat down and began eating, settling our hungry stomachs at ease. As we ate, a faint knock was heard at the front door. I didn't think it was anybody important; just the delivery man, dropping off a package to Mrs. Megan. But it turns out it was something far different.

"Kids!" Mrs. Megan calls after several minutes of nothing but quietness. Mabel and I perk our heads up, leaving our gaze of our delicious scrambled eggs. "There is somebody here who would like to see you." She says. My sister and I turn to look at each other with identical puzzling expressions appearing on our faces. Who in their right of mind would stop here after 9am? Mabel and I weren't expecting any visitors. I cautiously stand up from my seat from the table with Mabel following my exact moves. I told Mabel to stay behind me, just in case. We discreetly exit the kitchen towards the main doorway. Mrs. Megan was in full view, standing in front of somebody who I could not decipher by their body shape. She smiled towards us as Mabel and I stopped inches from our current caretaker.

"Who's here? I asked curiously. Instead of announcing who this mysterious visitor was, Mrs Megan moves aside to reveal the company that has decided to drop by this morning. Our mouths instantly drop in shock as the feeling of excitement sprouted through our bodies. Our legs took off running faster than a cheetah as our arms flailed in the air, towards the man. The guy kneeled down and gathered us in his big beefy arms, mustering one of the tightest hugs he could let out. Tears escaped through my eyes happily, thrilled to see the huge man child from last summer.

"I can't believe you're here, Soos!" I exclaimed, tightening my grip with him.

"I missed you, Soos! It's been forever!" Mabel says as she sniffles and wiping the tears from her own eyes.

"Ha! I missed you too, little dudes." Soos says, as he releases us and stands up straight, fixing his hat and smiling at us.

"Why don't we all sit down in my office." Mrs. Megan states as she leads the three of us back into her workspace. She pulled up an extra chair for Soos to sit down in, as my sister and I sit down next to each other. Mrs. Megan takes a seat in her swivel chair as she folds her hands together, eyeing the man-child. "So, Soos, what is the meaning of your visit?" She asks him politely.

"Yeah." I add on. "This was an unexpected surprise. What made you drive all the way down from Gravity Falls?"

"Well little dude, it's a long story. But I figured since we're all here, I guess now is a better time than ever to tell you it." Soos says. Mrs. Megan and I intriguingly leaned forward in our seats while Mabel sat on the edge of her chair, eagerly waiting for the story to be told. All we were missing now was a bucket of popcorn.

"It all started yesterday morning..."

 _ **~Flashback~**_

 _ **Gravity Falls, Oregon  
Mystery Shack  
8:30 AM**_

 **Soos' POV:**

"And remember folks, we put the 'fun' in no refunds!" I exclaimed happily as I waved goodbye to the bus load of tourists. Ah, another tour successfully complete. The bus load of tourists pulled away from the Mystery Shack; kids fascinated with their souvenirs while parents laughed at the pictures they took. The Shack's attractions have changed since I became the owner. I've hired my girlfriend, Melody to create new befundelments and to work the register while I gave the tours on an hourly basis. On breaks, I would either help Melody with the little projects or fix anything around the Shack that looks like its about to fall into pieces. Stan's repertoire with business scams, often floats through my memories when I make a sale, but I try to make everyone's visit to this tourist trap memorable as possible. I remember when Mabel became boss and all the customers continuously walked all over her. Because of that, I decided to follow Stan's motto. Making money is better than losing profit for cheap prices.

I stepped inside the shack to briefly recharge my batteries before the 9:00AM tour. Taking off the fez and eyepatch for a moment, I looked around the gift shop to find it empty; Melody wasn't in here. That's odd...lunch break isn't for another three hours. Melody usually tells me where she goes so that I don't panic and have to manage the Shack alone. I know for a fact she loves working here, so she wouldn't just up and quit on me like that. Might as well find her before the next bus load of tourists arrives to the Shack.

The minute I walked through the living room, I found Melody sitting in Stan's armchair. Her one hand was holding the phone up to her ear while she played with her hair with the other hand. It's very cute when she does that; that's one of the many characteristics I like about Melody. Stepping closer, I could tell she was very nervous about something, and I guess it had to do with that phone call. I cocked my head in wonder as she turns her head towards me and motions a hand to come towards her.

"Can you hold on a minute, ma'am?" Melody says into the receiver of the telephone. She then removes the phone from her ear and covers the mouth piece with her hand. She looks up at me with a worried expression on her face. Something was up. "Soos," she says. "there is a lady calling from Piedmont Foster Care and wishes to speak with Stan." An immediate thought floated to the front of my mind: the twins. The only way they would be in foster care is if something bad happened to their parents. My stomach started to turn into knots as Melody hands me the phone, and I take a seat on the arm of Stan's comfy chair.

"Hello, Mystery Shack. Soos speaking." I say calmly into the phone.

"Good morning." The lady replies from the opposite end of the call. My name is Mrs. Megan and I'm calling from Piedmont Foster Care. The purpose of this call is to get in contact with either Stanley of Stanford Pines. Is either person available?"

"Sorry ma'am. Unfortunately, the Stan brothers are out of town. The last time I heard from them was about two weeks ago. They were up in the Arctic Ocean. They told me they were heading towards the Atlantic Ocean and docking in New Jersey. But, they didn't say when they would dock." I explained.

"Very well. Do you, by any chance, have any other way in contacting them?" She asks with hints of disappointment arising in her voice.

"I mean, I have their cell phone numbers, but I doubt they'll have any cell service out there." I said as I began rubbing the back of my neck.

"I understand. Do you mind if I give you my information? That way incase anything changes, and the twin's great uncles return to town, they'll have a number to call."

"Of course, ma'am." I reply. Luckily I found a blank sheet of paper and a writing utensil on the head of Stan's creepy dinosaur coffee table. Mrs. Megan leaves me all of her information, including the address of residence. However, before I hung up the phone, the thought of the twins kept eating at my mind. I needed to know more about the situation at hand. I didn't want to give Stan any false information the next time he planned to call.

"Mrs. Megan," I began. "I don't mean to intervene with other people's business, and I don't know if you're even allowed to tell me, but I know Dipper and Mabel very well; they're practically like my little siblings. Can you tell me what happened that caused them to get into foster care?" I asked, hoping she would tell me.

"I'm not allowed to tell you the full story. But what I can say, is that something happened between the twins parents, and the siblings were harmed." She replies. I placed my hand over my mouth. Although I knew there was more to that story, it didn't stop me from reacting in shock. Kids should never be harmed or injure or whatever. I can't believe they had to go through something as terrifying as that. I wanted to press for more answers, but I knew that I couldn't. She wouldn't tell me the full story anyways.

"Are the kids okay?" I asked.

"Emotionally scarred, but fine. It hasn't been easy for either sibling." Mrs. Megan replies. My heart immediately sank. I felt so bad for the kids. It must have been a terrible event that happened which caused them to be emotionally scarred. I just wish I knew what caused it and how it all went down. Knowing I wouldn't know any other details, I exchanged farewells with Mrs. Megan and hung up the phone. I took a deep breath before I picked up the phone once more, and dialed Stan's cell phone number with shaky fingers. I hoped and prayed in my mind that he would answer the phone, but after five rings, it went straight to voicemail. I leaned forward and placed my hand on my head as I held back the urge to cry over the phone. I had to be audible for Stan to hear the message.

 _"Hey Stan. This is Soos, calling you from the Mystery Shack. Um...I'm just going to come out and say it...something happened to Dipper and Mabel. A lady called this morning and told me that something occurred between the twins parents and they were harmed through the process. I'm not joking about this...this is what the lady told me. She wouldn't give me any other information about it. And if she did, I would tell you immediately. This lady wants to speak with you and I told her you were away. She gave me her information and I can give it to you when you call back. I hope you're close to some signal to call me back soon. I hope the expedition is going well. Please get back to me soon. Thank you."_

The second I hung up the phone, I placed my face in my hands and I silently cried to myself. Melody looked up towards me and placed her hand on my shoulder as an act in comfort. I couldn't come to grips that this happened to quirky Mabel and nerdy Dipper. This shouldn't happen to anybody, especially the twins. Hopefully I would hear the full story myself soon, but I couldn't do anything now except wait for Stan to call me back. All I could do was sit and pray, hoping for Stan to call within the next few hours.

"Soos," Melody says as I look at her. She looked at me with sad, sympathetic eyes as I wipe my eyes dry with the palm of my hands. "I know things are not so great right now, but the next tour starts in ten minutes." She says. I take a glance at my watch...ten minutes. I'd rather sit by the phone all day...but I couldn't do that. I couldn't just shut down the Shack as I waited for a phone call that would possibly come days by now. I can't sit and worry, the Shack needs money. I stand up and face Melody with my hands going on her shoulders.

"Melody, if that phone rings, answer it right away. Don't let it go to tape. If its either Stan, or his brother, Ford, find me. I don't care if its during a tour or its 1:00AM. Answer the phone and give it to me. Okay?" I ask her.

"Anything for you, Soos." She replies. She embraces me tightly for a few moments. "Come on, we have to get ready." She whispers in my ear. The two of us release and head back to the gift shop. She gets to her post as I put back on my eye patch and fez and make my way outside, trying to brighten up my mood by giving mystery tours. Just on cue, a new bus load of tourists cuts the corner and begins to drive up the dirt road, leading up to the shack. One by one, the customers plied off the bus, excited to see the attractions that would fool their minds. I had to put this news behind me for the day and make it through these tours. I sighed aloud and put a smile on my face.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman, to a world full of mystery!"

 ** _~9:00PM~_**

I went through the rest of the scheduled tours for the day, acting happy and cheerful. But inside, my emotions were trying to win me over. I didn't let them succeed though; I made it through the day with fake smiles and cheesy one-liners. Almost twelve hours after I put that call into Stan and still nothing. When would he even have cell service again? When would he even listen to the message? I just hope I hear from him soon...the suspense of just waiting around is killing me. Soos needs his answers.

Looks like somebody heard my thoughts of distress, because a few minutes after 9pm, the phone rang...and it was the call I've been waiting for.

 _"Soos, it's Stan."_ Stanley Pines began. It sounded like he had a weak signal as to where he was; his voice on the phone sounded nothing but static. But good thing I could decipher words better than I can spell.

 _"Hi, Mr. Pines. Where did you and your brother end up docking?"_ I ask, making small talk. I didn't want to speak about the twins right away.

 _"We just docked off the coast of New Jersey. Ford and I are just about to grab a bite to eat. I got your voicemail. What happened to the twins?"_ Stan asks in clarification, making sure he heard the voicemail correctly. I'm surprised he's not really panicking.

 _"The lady who called this morning told me that something happened between Dipper and Mabel's parents, and the twins were harmed."_ I say.

 _"Did the lady say what actually occurred that caused the kids to be harmed? Are they okay?"_ Stan asks with hints of worry rising in his voice.

 _"No, she wouldn't tell me anything else. She said that Dipper and Mabel are emotionally scarred, but they're okay."_ I replied back into the receiver. _"Mr. Pines, what are we going to do? Dipper and Mabel have no other place to go; they're living in a foster home."_ I say sadly.

I heard Stan sigh aloud before he replied to my acts of distress. _"The minute I heard your voicemail, Soos, I panicked. I immediately thought about the twins and how they could be in danger. I was upset for some time after hearing that news, but luckily Ford calmed me down. And when he calmed me down, we came up with a solution."_ Stan replies.

 _"And that is...?"_

 _"Because of what happened to Dipper and Mabel, Ford and I are going to set course for Oregon by tomorrow morning. We have no money to buy two plane tickets. And besides I'm not allowed airplanes...still. We only have enough money for food tonight. Ford told me we wouldn't be back for about two to three weeks. The only reason why it took us so long to get to New Jersey is because of all the monsters we fought in the ocean."_

 _"So the twins will be in that foster home for weeks?"_ I ask. That's the last thing I would want for Dipper and Mabel.

 _"No. Soos, I'm about to ask you one of the most biggest favors you'll ever here out of me."_ Stan says in a serious tone _._

 _"Anything for you, Mr. Pines. Name it."_

 ** _~End Flashback~_**

 **Dipper's POV:**

"The minute he told me to fulfill this duty, I packed a days worth of essentials I may need, and took off this morning at around 1am, so I could be here by the time you two woke up." Soos replies, sending the two of us a sincere smile. He then gets down on his knees and looks up at us, preparing himself for something he never thought he would have to do. His body showed me signs of nervousness mixed in with happiness. But the look I saw in his eye told me a different story. He takes a deep breath, and puts his hands on our shoulders.

"Dipper. Mabel. I know you two have been going through hell the last few months. The last thing I would want for you guys, is to be put up for adoption, or be separated from one another. You two need each other to balance out the battles life throws at you guys. You've been through thirteen years together, and it'll continue that way." Astounded his words, he then stands up and faces Mrs. Megan who has been silent this entire time, listening to Soos' story. "Mrs. Megan," he began. "I would like to apply for temporary guardianship over Dipper and Mabel Pines."

"What?!" My sister and I exclaimed happily as we looked up at Soos with expressions of disbelief and excitement. He nods his head towards us in confirmation, and then faces Mrs. Megan once more.

"When Stan Pines, and his brother, Ford, return to Oregon, the two of them will personally drive down here, and apply for permanent custodianship of the twins. But in the meantime, guardianship is the best thing that the twins can withstand right now. And I intend to protect these kids no matter what, until Stan and Ford come home." Soos says as he places his hand over his heart. And I knew whenever he did that, he meant business.

Mabel took off from her seat and latched onto Soos for dear life, hugging him tightly. She was thrilled that we would go back to Gravity Falls after all. And I was too. Soos applying for guardianship is something I would never expect from him. He may be a man-child, and goof off from time to time, but if I had to pick a guardian over a complete stranger or Soos, I'm picking Soos.

Soos and Mabel look over towards me, noticing I have not moved from my seat at all. I guess I was still in a state of shock when Soos offered to become our temporary guardian. The two of them smile at me as he extends a hand towards my direction. "So, what do you say, little dude? Do you want to go back to Gravity Falls?" A big smile appeared on my face. I get to see everyone I met last summer. How could I possibly turn down an opportunity like that? I take off from my seat just like how Mabel did and embraced him tightly. Mabel and I look at each other while in the embrace, giving one another the facial expression that everything will be okay. We would remain together; the fear of separation would no longer cross our path. We were going back to Gravity Falls...together.

Mrs. Megan stood up from her desk and went to one of the bookshelves to find the forms Soos had to sign for temporary guardianship. Soos released the two of us and sat down, filling out all his information and taking out all the documents he would need to show proof that he wasn't a bad guy. Boy, when he said he packed all the essentials he could possibly need, he wasn't kidding.

Mabel and I looked at one another with big smiles on our faces. A real smile hasn't been on my face since the last day of summer. The times back at our old home were either fake or sincere. But I didn't have to forge any other of those grins any longer. I embraced Mabel in happiness as she did the same. We were both so pleased with the outcomes that arose this morning. We were going home...to our real home, hours away from here. And the two of us couldn't be any more excited.

After about fifteen minutes of paperwork and showing Mrs. Megan proof of identification, it was time for us to head out to Oregon. We all made our way towards the door with big, toothy grins on our faces. Mrs. Megan grabs the door for us and smiles down at both my sister and I. "Good luck, kids." Mrs. Megan says as we begin to walk out the door.

"Thank you, Mrs. Megan, for taking care of us these past few days." I replied, sending her a wave goodbye.

"It was my pleasure, Mason." She says. "Farewell, kids." With that, Mabel, Soos, and I descend down the patio steps and make our way to his pick up truck. Mrs. Megan shuts the door behind us gently by the time we reached the car door of the vehicle. We all piled up in the front, with Soos in the driver's seat. He turned the car, and turned towards us.

"You two ready for an eight hour car ride?" Soos asks as he puts on his seat belt and shifts the truck in reverse.

"If it means going to Gravity Falls, then I'm ready for it." Mabel replies happily.

"Yeah." I say as Soos backs out of his parking space, and shifts the gears of the vehicle into drive. "To Gravity Falls...our real home." I say, not even allowing the smile to fade away from my face. Soos then looks both ways and merges into traffic, where the eight our car ride officially began.

Mabel and I survived the most craziest experience ever in our thirteen-year-old lives. Who knew Frank would go mentally insane like that, scaring us until we peed our pants. But I knew for a fact that I would make it through that entire situation two nights ago with Mabel. I wasn't going to leave her behind. We faced that killer too many times to count on our fingers, and we would escape the trauma the same way...together. We faced CPS...together. And in the end, I still had my twin sister. Towards the end of the day, that's all I really need...Mabel Pines...my twin sister.

I felt my sister's warm hand grasp onto mine after a short time we were in the truck with Soos. I took hold of her hand, gently returning the squeeze she gave me. I look towards her, smiling faintly as we both knew this nightmare had ended on a good note. No more worries. No more fearing of getting hit. No more jump-scares. We were okay. We were safe. But most importantly, we were together.

"No goodbye, Mabes. I told you we would make it through."

* * *

 **A/N: ANYBODY EXPECTING THAT?! I think not! You all thought it would be Stan and Ford. Hahah!**

 **I'm debating whether or not I should write an epilogue. Let me know in the reviews if you want one. If not, I'm marking the story as complete.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. See you guys later!**

 **-Williebadger618**


	6. Chapter 6-Chepilogue

**Well, you all said you wanted both an epilogue and a sequel. Usually Epilogues are NOT this long. I ended up writing an extra 5,000 words again...lol. This isn't necessarily an epilogue. Instead, I'm calling it a "CHEPILOUGE" You know, chapter + epilogue? CHEPILOGUE.**

 **Make sure you read the author's note at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!**

 **-Williebadger618**

* * *

No Goodbye-Part VI (EPILOGUE)

 **Dipper's POV**

 **Two Weeks Later...**

Two weeks have passed since we left the foster home with Soos. Since then, everything in Gravity Falls has been normal...well, normal as Gravity Falls gets, to be exact. We arrived to the Mystery Shack late in the day; around 6pm. We were greeted by Wendy, Melody, and Mabel's pet pig, Waddles. He remained in town since Mom and Dad didn't want a pig living with us in our suburban Californian home. And, after everything that happened at that house, I think it was the right decision. Mabel would have been so heartbroken if Waddles got severely injured.

The night we came to Gravity Falls, everybody at the shack wanted to know the full story. Even Soos, and he doesn't even know the whole thing; just the information Mrs. Megan told him. I wasn't ready to say anything about it...not when the memories from that night are still fresh in my mind. Mabel didn't even want anybody to talk about it. The two of us were still emotionally scarred because of the horrific scenes we saw in our old house. It was too hard to say without breaking down in the process. We would constantly get pressed for answers by everyone, including the townsfolk and the friends we have made last summer. But thankfully, Soos stepped in and told everyone to back off. "They'll tell you when they're ready." He would reply. Man, without Soos, I think my sister and I would snap if one more person asked us.

Since our return to the town, Soos has been on the phone a lot. He was talking to the police about getting our belongings from our house, he called our school so we could get our records transferred up to Oregon so we could attend 8th grade here. Even Grunkle Stan called to tell us when they would be returning home. He said the first week in December. Him and Great Uncle Ford wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving, but at least they'll be here for Christmas. And from what I have heard, Oregon gets a lot of snow and the temperatures are frigid in all hours of the day. Cold enough to produce snow. My sister and I have never seen snow before...I'm actually excited to see it.

Last week, after Soos being on the phone for a few days, he explained to us that we had a road trip to take back to Piedmont. We had to go back to our old house and get the belongings we want shipped up here, we had to go to court for the prostitution of Frank Pines, and we had to attend our mother's funeral. I rather just go back to Piedmont just to ship my belongings up to Gravity Falls. I didn't feel like breaking down in court or at the funeral. But even if I tried to protest, we would have to go regardless.

 _ **House Visit (11.20.12)**_

After another eight hour car ride, Soos pulled up to the front of our house, where two officers patiently awaited for the three of us to step out of the vehicle. I could see three other guys in matching white polos, waiting by a huge moving truck that was in our driveway. Looks like they would be helping with our move and loading them in the back. From my passenger side window, I could see two news vans with reporters waiting on the sidelines, about five police officers trying to hold back the crowd, and a sea of our old neighbors behind yellow crime scene tape. They were all waiting find out our thoughts about the situation at hand, and I don't need the world to find out the havoc Frank caused for our broken family.

Soos, Mabel, and I, stepped out of the car, and thats when the reporters started running over towards us. My sister and I tried to hide our faces from the cameras while Soos escorted us towards a nearby police officer. The rest of the cops held back the neighbors and politely told the anchormen to back away from us. Thank goodness for the help of the police. An officer took us inside with two of the movers following behind.

When Mabel and I entered into our house, everything looked different. Even though we haven't been here since the incident, the scenery of the house just seemed different to me. I glanced at Mabel, who had her eyes locked on the carpet in the living room. The dried up blood stains were still visible to our eyes, and unfortunately, it brought back visions of seeing our deceased mother lying in that very same spot. I heard my sister beginning to sniffle, but I just gently put my arm around her, as the officers lead us up to our bedroom.

In our bedroom, Mabel and I had two separate cots on either side of the room. My sister's side was full of boybands she liked and pictures of me and her friends hanging on the walls. My side barely had anything on the walls, unless you count a picture of my sister and I when we were twelve. We must have spent two hours up in our room, trying to decide the things we want to take with us to Gravity Falls. I ended up picking my case full of books I had stacked on my side of the bed, all of my clothes, my backpack, and a couple of pictures, including that one on the wall. My sister picked all her arts and craft supplies, her clothes, her backpack, the posters and pictures, and her scrapbook supplies. The movers gently packed everything we wanted and took it down to the moving truck one by one. Soos even helped too, taking some things and storing it in the back of his vehicle.

As we descended down the staircase for the final time, an officer stopped us in the middle of the stairway. "Kids, before we leave, we have to go and retrieve your personal documents. Do you know where your parents would keep them?" I know exactly where they kept all of our information...

"It's down in the basement in a large chest on the far side of the room." I explained.

The officer nodded. "Can you come down and show us so we can get the chest?" He asked. Mabel and I looked at one another on the steps. Head back down in that basement? The basement where we almost got killed?

 _ **~Flashback~**_

 _"Dipper?" Mabel whispered to me, as I moved my head towards her direction. "If tonight is...the end..." She began, but I cut her off._

 _"No, sis." I whispered to her as quietly as possible. "We're gonna make it through this, just like we always do."_

 _"But...if something happens, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything I've done to you to piss you off, or cause you to hate me." She replies with tears leaking through her eyes. I take my one hand and wipe them away as I felt my own tears beginning to rise in my eyes. I release another shaky breath before I reply._

 _"None of that matter's Mabel. I could never hate you. You're my twin sister and best friend on this earth. We'll make it through this." I say in the most positive way I could think of._

 _"But, if we don't..." She says, but I cut her off once more._

 _"No. There is no goodbye, Mabes. We're going to survive. No goodbye." I say reassuringly. She bites her lip in fear, but it only wants me to hold her tighter. No goodbye... I kept repeating in my head. This would not be the end of us. We will make it._

 _..._

 _"Hahaha." Dad said sinisterly. "I found you Dipshit." That's when I took a huge deep breath, reluctantly approached the man with the killing weapon, and waited for the right time to strike. "And of course, you're with your fucking bitch sister. She's nothing but a whore." He spat._

 _..._

 _I took the bat and swung it so it hit him right in the head. He fell like a sack of potatoes, limp to the ground; the weapon escaping his grasp. It took me a few moments to realize what I had done. I looked down at him; the father I use to have...now unconscious on the basement floor._

 ** _~End Flashback~_**

"I...I can't." I said after remembering that horrific scene from almost a week ago. Going down in that basement just brought back too many memories. "I can't go back in that basement." I acted like a scared little kid who was afraid of the boogey-man lurking in the shadows. I know Frank is in custody, but the thought of descending down that set of steps just caused horrific flashbacks in my mind. Mabel had put her hand on my shoulder as a shortness of breath began building up in my body. She rubs her hand back and forth on my shoulder blade to show that everything was okay. And I knew things were okay, but this whole situation wasn't easy for the both of us.

"Officer, I'll go down and retrieve it with you." Soos says from behind Mabel and I. The officer only nods in response and continues down the staircase. Soos gently squeezes past us and turns around on the steps and faces us. "You said it was in a large chest by the far side of the room, right?" He asks.

"Y-yeah. It's black too, if that helps." I reply with a shaky breath, trying to calm myself down. Soos places a hand on my shoulder in comfort.

"You two dudes just stay here on the steps. I'll go get the chest. I'll come get you as soon as I'm done helping the officer." Soos replies. Mabel and I nod back in response as Soos turns around and completely goes down the staircase, meeting the officer at the bottom. The two of them cut the corner as Mabel and I take a seat on the staircase. Mabel wraps her arms around me in comfort as I cling to her, trying to calm myself from the flashback I witnessed. I tried to think of something else to take my mind off of it, but it's hard to think of something when I've been through hell for months with my sister.

Time just seemed to stand still as Mabel and I awaited for Soos to come back. It seemed like an eternity, but he soon returned after five minutes. He then scooped us up in his arms and took us out of the house. He walked us over to his truck, now packed and full of our stuff. He placed us on the pavement where Mabel and I scrambled into the passenger side, waiting for Soos to get in the driver's seat. I glanced out of the passenger's window once more; the sea of neighbors was more sporadic than earlier. One news van was missing in action. They all stayed behind the police tape.

Soos got in the truck moments later after securely fastening everything in the back. "Ready to go?" Soos asks as he hooks his seatbelt and turning on the truck, shifting it into drive in the process. Mabel and I nod our heads in unison as Soos begins to drive away from our house, and towards the direction of a hotel. As much as I wanted to go back to Gravity Falls, we still had two more stops to go to. The only difference would be that these stops will cause the waterworks to escape from my eyes. And I didn't want to cry. Especially in front of people.

 _ **Piedmont Court House (11.21.12)**_

Dressed in black clothing, Mabel, Soos, and I entered into the court house, where the hearing of the killer would be taken place. I really thought I saw the last of him back in that hospital room last week. I had nothing to say to that man. He knows the hardships he caused for my family. He knows the hell he put us all through. I know he's not sorry for what he has done. He's never been sorry. Everything that I told that killer last week was the truth. He's nothing but a lying asshole, who took our mother away. I didn't want to go into that court room, and have to see his deceiving face again. But we all had to make sure he would go to jail for a long time.

The court process wouldn't be so easy. According to what the police told Soos, the judge is planning to ask to hear testimonies from both my sister and I. I actually didn't have a problem repeating the same words I said to him back in the hospital room. But I could tell my sister did not want to speak with him. Despite how she feels about Frank, the judge will make her say something. I would speak for her if I was allowed to, but I knew the judge would want to hear her own point of view out of her mouth. And I can't argue with the law; nor can my sister.

The hearing was scheduled for 9:15am. People started making there way either to the audience seats or the jury booth a little bit after 9:00am. Soos, Mabel, and I remained outside of the courtroom until we were called in by the bailiff. We all sat quietly, not uttering a word to each other. Soos had his hands folded in his lap while my sister and I linked our hands together. We kept squeezing out grasp in reassurance. I was praying the verdict would end up with him going to jail. But all I could do was hope that our testimonies would be good enough to have Frank behind bars for a long time.

"All parties in the matter of Pines vs. Pines. Step forward please."

 **-=O=-**

Judge Mower, who was presiding this case, called me up to the stand. I sworn in, confirming that I would tell the truth about the events that occurred in that house last week. The judge then starts off asking me questions about how long Frank has been abusing me, if I was the one who knocked him unconscious that night in the basement, and if he attempted to try and kill us with the killing weapon. Every time I gave an answer to Judge Mower, Frank would constantly roll his eyes and scoff, as if the information I gave the Judge was a lie. How can I lie about something that was true? Besides, its all on file. There's a police report and documents recorded from Child Protected Services. He can lie all he wants, he knows he's going to jail.

"Mason Pines, we would like to hear a final testimony, if you may." Judge Mower states as he folds his hands together. I look back towards Mabel, who sends me a sincere smile. I could see the tears lines reflecting off from the ceiling lights as she sniffles lightly. I send a smile back towards her, before turning around and taking a look at Frank once more. I then sigh aloud and begin my final testimony.

"No words can describe how hurt, upset, and angry I am at you. You have a true screw loose up in your head; you've snapped and I don't know why. You killed my mother. Nothing in this world can bring her back. You may act sorry, but I know you're not. I hope prison will open your eyes and realize the mistakes you made. I hope and pray you stay in prison for the rest of your life. You went to far this time...and you can't fix it. Have fun in prison. I will make sure I'm not around to see you again." I say as I lower my head and wipe away the tears that had came to my eyes.

"Thank you, Mason. You may sit down now." Judge Mower replies as I leave the podium and sit down in the first row of seats, in between my sister, and Soos. Mabel grabs my hand tightly, as I return the squeeze just as tight. I feel like that was the hardest thing I ever had to do. To officially stand up in front of people and let out my rage and anger to someone twice my size. But I'm glad I did it. I'm hoping the jury makes the right verdict.

After I sat down, Judge Mower called my sister up to the stand. This was the moment she was dreading all morning. She didn't want to go up there and face Frank and give a testimony, but she had to. As much as she wanted to run out of the courtroom, she still had to answer the judge's questions. She calmly stood up, and walked up to the podium, with shaky hands.

She sworn in like how I did, and the judge began asking her similar questions he asked me. Mabel would actually wait a few seconds, mentally collecting her thoughts and trying to hold back her tears as she gave her answers. I kept my eyes locked on Frank the entire time my sister spoke. The difference I saw with Frank's facial expressions was odd. When I spoke, he rolled his eyes. Yet, when my sister spoke, he would send sympathetic eyes. It looked like to me that Frank was trying to get Mabel to change the story. But I didn't worry because my sister doesn't lie to anyone. And I knew she wouldn't lie if she was under oath. She didn't even look at Frank.

"Mabel Pines, you may now give your final testimony, whenever you are ready." Judge Mower says into the microphone. It takes her about a minute to fully get herself together so she could finally muster words towards the bully. Frank and I both knew how forgiving Mabel was, but I hope with everything she went through with me last week, she will gain enough courage to say words that will sting. I just hope my thought was right.

"Where do I even begin with you?" She began as she sniffles aloud. "...you hurt me and my brother for far too long. I...I've been so scared to come up here this morning to talk about all the things you have done to me. My brother has more courage than I ever will when it comes to lunatics like you. I know you may act sorry, but its all just a lie...and you know how much I hate liars. I know you'll be in jail for a long time, and I don't want to see you again. I don't want to get hurt anymore. But at least I'll be safe...with my true family...with my brother. At the end of the day...Dipper's all I need." She concludes as she wipes her eyes and tries to pull herself together once more.

"Thank you, Mabel. You may take a seat." Judge Mower says into the microphone. She quickly leaves the podium and returns to her seat, leaning inwards towards me as I put my arm around her in comfort.

"You did good, Mabel." I whisper into her ear as I rubbed her shoulder.

"Thanks...but you did better." She replies in a quiet tone. I squeeze her in comfort, knowing this nightmare was almost over.

My sister and I then return our gaze to the judge. He quietly wrote down some side notes before removing his spectacles and turning his gaze towards the jury. He saw them whispering their decisions to one another, and gave them several minutes to talk amongst themselves. When the majority of the jury looked towards the magistrate, he banged his gavel on the podium.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Mower inquiries as the man to the far left of the audience stands up.

"We have, your honor." The man replies. The three of us stand up in the stands to find out what the decision was. Mabel and I linked our hands together once more, patiently awaiting for the jury's decision. Frank also stands up from the prosecutor podium next to the judge and awaits to hear the verdict that would hopefully alter his life. "We find the defendant, Francis Arnold Pines, guilty. The following charges have been put against you: first degree murder of your wife, Jessica Marie Pines. Child abuse and endangerment of twin siblings Mason and Mabel Pines. You have been sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, without parol."

Mabel and I let out huge sighs of relief when the verdict was read. She and I embraced in joy, knowing he was going to prison. Soos, joined in on the hug, with waves of relief flooding through our bodies. After two and a half hours of sitting in this court house, the answer I had been hoping for actually came. We were finally free. We were finally safe. We would never have to see him ever again. Although I was expecting a sentence to life in prison, I can withstand him 25 years behind bars. As long as I know he'll be sentenced for his crimes, then this outcome was fine by me. We watched Frank be handcuffed and taken out of the room with shackles on his wrists. Frank won too many battles. But, in this case, Mabel and I won the war.

We then all followed the sea of people out of the courtroom with big smiles on our faces. Twenty-five years in prison for Frank Pines...serves him right. Soos, Mabel, and I make our way out of the courthouse itself, and walk towards the truck. We piled in one by one, satisfied by the events that had happened this morning. But our smiles were soon faded away with grim looks on our faces, when we remembered the final stop we had to go to before we could go back to Gravity Falls.

 _ **Piedmont Cemetery (11.21.12)**_

The last band of cars made their exits out of the cemetery the second Soos pulled in the lot. We unfortunately missed the funeral and the ceremonial burial of our mother. If the court case didn't take all morning, maybe we would have been here on time. The funeral was set for 10am, and the burial at 11am. We just missed the burial by a half hour. Soos stopped the truck as we watched two gravediggers fill the hole. Mabel and I scrambled out of the truck and ran over towards the hole, trying not to trip on the roots of the nearby oak tree or the other tombstones.

"Hey kids, what are you doing?" The one gravedigger asked in an annoyed tone. But I didn't care. I came here to say goodbye to my mother, and I would do it regardless of my feelings.

"Who are you burying?" Mabel asked politely.

"The deceased body of Jessica Pines." The other gravedigger responded. "Why? You family?"

"We're her children." I clarified. The two gravediggers look over at one another, and then back at us.

"Well, why didn't you come to the ceremony?" The first gravedigger asked.

"We got..." I began to say as I looked over towards Mabel. "We got sidetrack with something." I say in a defeated tone. I had a gut feeling mom was angry with us that we didn't come to the ceremony. But I couldn't just up and leave the courthouse without finding out the verdict of Frank. I wanted to make sure he'd pay for his wrongdoing by serving his time in that prison. I'm hoping mom understood. "I know it sounds selfish and all, but if you understood our position, you would know."

"Alright, kid. Don't sweat it. We'll give you two some space to say goodbye." The second gravedigger said. I nodded back towards them as they laid their shovels on the ground and walked away, giving Mabel and I some privacy.

I couldn't believe I was saying goodbye to my mom this way. It should have been done formally back at the funeral home. But the service men can't wait for everyone to show up; family or not. I wish I could go back in time to the funeral, but I couldn't do that. This was reality...and I now have to face life's consequences for my misconduct. Man, and I thought Frank was going to have it bad.

"So...who should go first?" Mabel asked as she took hold of my hand. I look over towards her; tears beginning to drip down her face once more. I felt my own eyes begin to tear up as I kept thinking about what I should say to mom. There was so much stuff I wanted to say to her, but it had to be something short; the gravediggers were waiting.

"You can go first." I say as I released a shaky breath. Mabel nods back to me and takes several steps to the newly dug grave. It takes her a few moments for her to find words to say to our deceased mother, but I know no matter how much effort she put into this goodbye, it wouldn't be easy to let go.

"H-h-hey mom." Mabel began. "Umm...I-I don't know w-what I sh-should even say. ...I guess I c-can st-start out by saying...saying thank you. Thank you...for...for standing up to dad...and protecting D-Dipper and I. I-I know you were sc-scared that n-night...I was too. I-I just w-wish you were still...still here with us...being able to watch Dipper and I...grow up. But...if it makes you f-feel any b-b-better...Grunkle Stan...and Grunkle Ford...they plan to take c-care of u-us. I know you w-would always...always make s-sure Dip and I were t-t-taken c-care of. I...I will make sure they will do a g-good job a-at it. I...I love you, mom. Please...don't f-forget that. I...I'll see you again...in the clouds."

Mabel then falls to her knees and sobs loudly. I walked to where she was and crouched down next to her, putting my arms around her in a tight embrace. She clinged to me, crying into my shoulder. That was definitely one of the most hardest things Mabel ever had to say. It's never easy when she goes through something like this. I held her for some time, letting her cry out her pain as I fought back the urge to sob myself. But soon, it came time for me to say my farewell to my mother...and I wasn't ready.

After five minutes or so, Mabel got up and gave me some space to talk to mom. I was not ready to speak. I didn't really think of any words to say to mom...I focused on my sister's goodbye. My emotions attempted to get the better of me, but I wouldn't let them succeed until I said some form of goodbye. And I knew I had to say something to her before she was completely buried six foot under. I stood up, placed my hands in my pockets and builded up some form of confidence to speak with my deceased mother.

"...Hi mom." I start. "The past few months have been...pretty crazy, huh? Anyway, I'm sorry Mabel and I didn't come to the funeral...we got c-caught up at the courthouse." Tears started leaking from my eyes. I wiped them away vigorously and continued to fight through the pain. "...If it makes things better, Frank's going to jail for a long time. Y-yeah, he won't be...hurting anybody for a long time...Mom, I also wanted to thank you for trying to p-protect Mabel and I from Frank. I know you...you s-s-sacrificed y-your l-life to s-save us...and I truly appreciate it." I inhale a deep breath before continuing. "Mom, I want...I want to make you a promise. Your job was to protect Mabel and I from Frank...well I want you to know...that I vow to protect Mabel for the rest of my life. ...If she got injured that night...I would never forgive...myself. I promise you I will keep her safe from anything. From a monster. From a bully. From Frank. I'll protect Mabel for as long as it takes. I may be the little brother, but siblings look out for each other. ...I-I p-p-promise." I couldn't say any more. I just couldn't. The tears from my eyes started falling down like a waterfall. But I didn't break down yet.

Mabel approaches me and puts her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I return the embrace, sniffling lightly. She then moves her head in front of my face, yet not letting go of me. "Dip?"

"Y-yeah?" I reply, holding in my tears.

"It's okay to cry." She says looking at me sympathetically. That's when I lost it. I started crying...probably harder than Mabel was. She pulls me back into the embrace where I buried my face into her shoulder. She did the same. I clung onto her like my life depended on it, as the two of us sobbed in each others arms. Going through a death in the family is never an easy experience...especially if this family member's life was cut short by that evil nutcase.

I heard a car door open up and slam shut, as footsteps walked closer towards us. Figuring it was Soos, I attempted to pull myself together...but my emotions weren't done flooding through my body. Soos ended up escorting us back into the truck; Mabel and I never lost our grip on each other. He quietly shifted the vehicle into drive, beginning to leave the heartbroken scenery.

 **-=O=-**

The car ride back was mainly silent. We were heading back up to Gravity Falls where we would permanently settle in within the next couple of days. Mabel laid her head on my shoulder; the constant crying caused her to pass out. I kept my one arm around her as I just kept thinking back at the promise I made my mother. Protect Mabel. That was my goal. I wouldn't let my mom down. She protected us from Frank...now its my turn to protect Mabel through anything. I may had to say goodbye to my mother, but there will be no goodbye with my twin sister.

 _I promise, I will protect you, Mabel. I promise._

* * *

 **As you can tell by my CHEPILOUGE" this story is getting a sequel. Well, unless you think it still needs one. Let me know. I do have a plan for one. But you guys are the judges.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed. See you later**

 **-Williebadger618**


End file.
